Don´t be afraid of the internship abroad! The faculty will cover your costs.

Ph.D. candidate Jana Gregorová is studying under the guidance of her supervisor Associate Professor Sabina Ševčíková in the study program Physiology, Pathological Physiology, Medical Chemistry and Biochemistry. In the interview, she shared her impressions from the internship abroad and her experience with the use of financial resources.

You recently returned from an internship at the University of Torino in Italy. How do you evaluate your stay at a foreign institution?

I evaluate the internship very positively. It was my first stay abroad during my studies. If it wasn't for the fact that it is compulsory for Ph.D. students to do an internship abroad, I don't know if I would have done it on my own. It was very rewarding to see another laboratory and one that is also part of a large hospital. I had the opportunity to learn and improve several new laboratory methods and I also learned how to process samples directly from patients.

How did you arrange the internship? Was it your individual activity or did someone help you? Were there other institutions involved?

I arranged the internship with the help of my supervisor, Associate Professor Sabina Ševčíková, who had a long-standing collaboration with this department. There were no other institutions in the game.

How did you deal with the financing of your stay? Did you try to get financial support within a mobility program or did you use other options?

For funding, I chose the new LF MU scholarship, which was created specifically to support funding for Ph.D. students' internships abroad. I did not use other funding options because the faculty scholarship covered most of the costs associated with the stay.

How difficult was it to apply for and receive the faculty scholarship?

It was easy to get a faculty fellowship. All I had to do was fill out the documents, but they were also needed for the internship itself. I didn't have to fill out anything else. I received the scholarship very quickly after it was approved by the Vice Dean. A great help in the process was Petr Bureš from the Department of Science and Quality. He advised me what the funding options were and what all I needed to arrange.

Is there anything you would like to say to students who are planning a stay at a foreign institution?

I would recommend not to hesitate to go. I hesitated for many years and couldn't make up my mind and now I regret it a little. It was a great experience that I will remember fondly.

Thank you for the interview and we wish you every success in your further studies.